Beagles?

I'd love to hear people's opinions of and experiences with them.

I like the idea of at least one smallish dog in the future, and while I like frenchies exercise tolerance and some of the health issues give me serious pause.

DH wants a dog that is less "in your face" than a lab. I want a dog that is going to be dog friendly, a good walking/hiking buddy who also has an off switch, is not super likely to try to eat my birds, and can just be a go anywhere dog. I do know that beagles are not really to be trusted off least due to their sniffer, and I'm ok with that. I would like to dabble in agility as well.

Any thoughts?

We had a beagle for a summer. It was my friend's dog and she went to study abroad so my room mate took the beagle. She was < 1 year old and from a BYB. I am so not a scenthound person so take all that into account. I am sure other people will have more information.

Layla was very friendly with people and other dogs. But she was very very boisterous. She would fling herself at you and all over you. She just had tons of energy to spare and my friend... didn't train her very well. She was a hellion, really. I'd come back from visiting with scratches all up and down my arms and legs because she was so boisterous. She would bay the entire time she was put away so it was kind of a lose/lose. Very vocal and very loud.

When we got her she actually proved to be pretty trainable but she was not a dog that just seemed to naturally care what you wanted her to do. She needed consistency and a lot of exercise. She wasn't just going to sit because you wanted her to, she needed some serious reward. But she was a glutton for food. She picked things up moderately fast and by the end of the summer was a million times better behaved. She got a good long walk (which was spent almost entirely with her nose to the ground) every day and got some short training and she was fine. But when she went back to her owner she went right back into being a hellion that you couldn't have out with friends over and bayed all day/night long. I think she was a good dog but needed a lot more work and training than her owner gave her. It was pretty sad... She really needed an outlet.

I am sure this is being from a BYB but Layla went blind very young from cataracts. I am not sure how common they are in beagles.

Oh and she was the CUTEST puppy.

There's a lady in agility that runs beagles and does beagle rescue. Her dogs are very nice. Very sweet and happy and friendly. One is a little fearful but overall they are very mild mannered dogs. They're fun to watch run too. Very happy dogs but every now and then they start a sniffin and kind of 'forget' what they're doing.

I've never met a mean one, they've never been super easy to train with though. The noise, it's awful. lol

There's a nice lady around here that shows her beagles and does agility and obedience. She does a great job with them and they do well, I think she's got at least 2 ATChC dogs and maybe an OTCh. Hers do occasionally lose focus if they catch a smell though... Anyway I like them as they're friendly and happy and look very puppy like forever, but not the dogs for me.

Mandy who is the lady you know? I don't think I have ever heard of a OTCH beagle.

1) they are hard to train. Distractible, short attention span and stubborn
2) the howl. Emma didn't much but I worked so hard on it.
3) be certain you can deal with NEVER off leash. I mean NEVER.
4) tons of energy but and off switch.
5) if you do train in agility (I did) be prepared for a lot of off days. When they smell something they don't care about anything else.
6) shedding. For a short haired breed they can shed a lot.
7) a good beagle will have prey drive. If you like small furry animals running loose in the house a beagle is not a good breed for that
8) they love every one and every dog.

From what I've seen they can be dominant & even a little aggressive, kind of a short mans disease thing.

I've never met a mean or unhappy beagle! lol they are awfully cute, that's all I know.

Here's a break down of Beau:

1. He's smart as a whip, but stubborn as mule.
2. HIGHLY trainable, so long as you have food.
3. He LOVES other dogs, until they snark at him and he must kill them.
4. Once that nose hits the ground, it's over! Training session done.
5. They are sweethearts and love everyone and are AMAZING with kids.
6. Next to no health problems, a VERY hardy breed.
7. They live to be old as dirt. Beau is pushing 11 this year and has only started to slow down because of his knees and that's it.
8. He's the reason I don't have a parakeet anymore, and he wants to eat the chickens.
9. He's can NEVER EVER be off leash EVER.
10. They're great dogs, but start training early and use VERY stinky treats.
11. Food is the number one love in his life, he gets fat easy.

Common beagle health problems:

Spine/disk issues, cherry eye, dwarfism, factor 7, Epilepsy, thyroid problems and Musladin-Lueke Syndrome

Some may also be prone to ear infections.

They are very physically hardy (ie rough play, rough terrain, ect..)

I love mine, but on a whole they are maybe my least favorite breed. Stubborn...super smart but stubborn...Food driven like there is no tomorrow and he is positive this may be his last meal. Highly trainable IF he is in the mood and no other distractions are in the way.

I often hear people complain about shedding, but living with a Saint and a huskyX AND being a professional groomer, I find that beagles shed but not horribly. They are loud! Unpredictable off lead, we are lucky and can allow ours off lead in familiar areas if we keep an eye on him 100% of the time and use his recall before he focuses on something else. It took years to get here and we can read his body language like an open book. We are incredibly lucky to be able to let him off lead and stress that this is not the norm.

He is ultra friendly unless he gets annoyed and then Pops nailed it on the head, little man syndrome! When he is good, he is very very good but when he is bad...lets just say that this little dog has certainly taught me alot about behavior and modification. This dog was the one who taught my husband about positive reinforcement and that 'old school' methods will not work. They can be taught to do agility and obedience but they are not the most common dogs used for these sports and for good reason!!!

oh...and if this says anything about the breed, I find it easier to bring my drooling insecure 160lb Saint visiting strange places than my little beagle. He demands 100% of my attention to ensure that he is on his best behavior. He has a great off switch at home but we have yet to find it when we are away! He will be the last beagle we will ever own.

Solo is a very friendly happy go lucky dog. he is my only experience owning a beagle.

He doesnt howl/bay much. only when playing with other dogs. or if he catchs a good scent. he loves every one he meets. and every single time some one enters the house he greets them with a hig pitched whinny sound and a toy in his mouth, if he doesnt have a toy close by he will run till he finds one then greet you lol.

I do let him offleash and 9/10 he will come back when called right away, the 1 time he doesnt takes a min or 2 then he is back. But I let him off deep int he woods with no traffic close by. He enjoys other dogs, to much, but cant tolerate puppies to much. anything under 6 months old, is not going to be his friend. my friends moms puppy who is about 7 months old has finally got a pass by solo, now they are BFFs

He is super lazy. blaze at 10 years old will run circles around him. but get him out of the house and he is ready to go, indoors all he does is sleep.

he is a food hound. and food needs to be away from him. he does "drive bys" as we call them, we will have something ont he table and he will walk by while licking at what ever is on the table trying to steal it.

TBH I havnt put to much training in him. as I dont find him hard to live with and training tricks and such is never my thing. he knows the basics and Im fine with that.

I love him to death. Dont know if Id ever get another hound again. as he was a fluke that I got him any way. But I do enjoy him. he is the cuddliest dog, such a sweet temperment. a good hardy dog.

I dont know if its common with beagles but he LOVES to swim. I mean he would sim for hours if you let him. its not uncommon for us to walk int he woods while he swims the river ahead of us just for the fun of it.

I have a beagle and I really love the breed. I do competition obedience and we did relatively well with the right training methods but my beagle is the more extreme end of drive for the breed.

I love beagles because they are hardy, happy hounds that should and generally do have good solid nerves and workable food drive. Make sure you spend time with some before getting one as they aren't for everyone but I really love them as a breed. They are a good size and don't generally have many health issues. They are hounds so can be stubborn but as they are usually quite food driven they aren't hard to motivate.

I also have a Malinois and as much as Mals really are the breed for me I'm sure I will always have a beagle too! Compared to my Mal, my beag is lazy, but Beagles should be a dog that can fit in with your exercise requirements. I could take her for a two hour bush walk and she will happily keep up with me or I could sit on the lounge watching movies all day and she will sleep next to me.

ETA: here's a clip of Daisy at an obedience trial. I don't do much with her now comp wise but she is still good fun to handle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GWV53bt2Ag&sns=em